It Started in the Library
by PenguinBuddy
Summary: Rose thinks that sharing a book with Scorpius Malfoy is a one-time encounter, but suddenly she's seeing him in the library rather a lot. And she doesn't mind one bit. Companion story to "Game On" but can be read on its own as a stand-alone story.
1. Encounters in the Library

Disclaimer: The characters are the property of the amazingly talented J.K Rowling. I'm only borrowing the characters and world that she has so brilliantly created.

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**A/N: I've written this short story so that it can be read as a stand-alone story, but it is also a companion piece to my Next Gen James/OC chapter story "Game On." This short story is a more in-depth explanation of the Rose/Scorpius events described in that story.**

**I hope you enjoy it! **

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_**Chapter One: Encounters in the Library**_

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Rose Weasley couldn't reach the top of the bookshelf. She stood on her tiptoes and stretched her arm towards the shelf, but the _Encyclopedia of Herbs and Roots_ was still sadly out of reach.

She was about to pull out her wand and float the book down when from immediately next to her, a pale hand moved in front of her face and grasped the book with ease.

"I'm sorry, but that's mine," Rose protested. Turning to confront the book thief, she saw that it was Scorpius Malfoy. He was a fellow sixth year and in some of her lessons, but he was in Slytherin House while Rose was a member of Gryffindor House.

Just before her first year, immediately before she boarded the Hogwarts Express for the first time, her father had told her not to become too close to Scorpius Malfoy and told her to beat the blonde haired boy in every exam. Her mother had rolled her eyes and told her father not to set the children against each other. But Rose, being naturally competitive when it came to academics, had taken the bit about beating Scorpius Malfoy in every exam to heart. As a result, he was something of an academic rival to her whether he knew it or not.

He flipped the book open and glanced inside of the front cover. "I don't see your name on it."

"I was trying to reach it. I was just about to use my wand to get it down when _you_ swooped in and stole it."

"You didn't have your hands on it yet," he drawled, clearly amused at her indignation. "I grabbed it first, I think that makes it mine."

"No, it doesn't!" insisted Rose. She felt herself growing exasperated at Malfoy's irritating manner. "I need that book to write my potions essay."

"So do I," Malfoy challenged.

Rose folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her blue eyes at him. "Yes, well, I'm sure you could find another book to help you."

Malfoy tossed the large book from one hand to the other in a carefree manner that suggested he was greatly enjoying this entire scene. "You could find a different book too, you know."

"No, actually, I can't. I've already done all of my other research. This is the last book I need to read through before I can begin my essay."

Malfoy seemed to consider this. "We could share it."

Share the book? What did he mean, share it?

"How would we do that?" Rose asked skeptically.

Malfoy gave her a critical look. "We each need to read out of it, so we can read out of it at the same time. Then we can work on our essays and refer back to it as needed."

Well, that didn't sound _too_ bad, Rose thought. It was certainly a better alternative than not having the book at all. The _Encyclopedia of Herbs and Roots _was absolutely necessary for her to be able to write an O worthy essay; she simply couldn't do without it.

"I sit over there," Rose told him, motioning vaguely in the direction of the Charms section. There was a quiet, secluded nook tucked away where she found it easy to study.

"Seeing as I'm allowing you to share _my_ book, I think I should choose where we sit."

"It is not _your _book!" Rose huffed angrily.

"Didn't have your name on it," he reminded her lightly.

"It didn't have yours on it either. Just because you're taller doesn't mean that you have the right to it. I saw it first!"

Malfoy shrugged. "Fine. We'll sit at your table."

A bit stunned at his easy capitulation, Rose led him over to her usual table. Sometimes she shared it with her cousin, Al, but right now he was in the Gryffindor common room. She sighed a bit. If Al had been here, he could have retrieved the book for her, and she would never have been in this situation in the first place.

Malfoy carefully set the _Encyclopedia of Herbs and Roots _down on the table and took a seat.

When Rose made to sit on the other side of the table, he instead pushed out the chair next to him.

"You know, if we're both going to read it, we're going to have to sit on the same side of the table."

She hadn't considered that. Sit so close to Malfoy? Someone she barely even knew? Rose wasn't certain how she felt about that. But she needed to read chapter ten, so she hesitantly lowered herself into the chair next to him. They were very close, she noticed. Their legs were almost brushing. She also noticed that he smelled very nice. Kind of a clean, fresh scent mixed with something that smelled a bit like pine.

They read in silence, and to her relief, he kept up a similar reading pace so that they were able to flip the pages at nearly the same time. When the time came to begin writing, he worked diligently on his essay, every now and then pausing briefly to refer back to the book resting between them. Rose supposed that perhaps she shouldn't have been so surprised. After all, Scorpius was one of the top students among of the sixth years and one didn't achieve that sort of academic record by being completely thick.

Rose lost track of the time as the pair of them worked on their respective essays. At last, he threw down his quill and stretched his arms above his head.

"That's me done," he yawned as he began packing up his bag.

"Me too," Rose agreed, carefully placing her completed essay, ink well, and quill inside of her rucksack.

"See?" he smirked slightly. "That wasn't so awful, now was it?"

"Thank you," she told him somewhat grudgingly. "The information in that book really did make all of

the difference to my essay. Without it, I'm certain that Professor Longbottom would only have given me an E."

"Swot."

Rose looked sharply up at Malfoy, but he didn't seem to have been insulting her. In fact, he appeared vaguely amused.

"Goodnight, Rose," he told her quietly.

Up until that moment, Rose hadn't been certain that he actually knew her name. It turned out that he did.

"Goodnight…Scorpius," she replied. His named sounded foreign on her tongue, but not in unpleasant way, she decided.

He strolled away, his rucksack slung across his shoulders and that was the end of that.

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Or so Rose thought. To her great surprise Malfoy approached her library table in the Charms nook a week later.

"How did you do on that essay?" he asked, his voice casual. Just that morning in lessons, Professor Longbottom had returned their Herbology assignments.

Rose blinked in surprise at seeing him standing in front of her. "Fine. Very well, actually."

"See? I told you sharing the book would help both of us," he smirked, obviously pleased with himself.

"Yes," Rose allowed. What was he still doing here? "And I was correct about needing the supplemental information that was located in the _Encyclopedia of Herbs and Roots."_

Malfoy – or should she think of him as Scorpius? – inclined his head to her. "And to think if we hadn't shared it you would have _only_ received an E. Good job I let you share my book."

Rose wrinkled her nose. "I think you're mistaken. It wasn't _your _book."

"Of course it was."

"It wasn't your book!" she said a loud whisper to avoid being told off by Madam Pince. She had made it to her sixth year without the librarian telling her to be quiet, and she fully intended to keep her perfect record.

"See you around, Rose," he said with a slight smirk before strolling away.

And she did. See him again, that was. Rose couldn't remember ever bumping into Scorpius Malfoy in the library so often, but suddenly within the span of a week it seemed as though he was everywhere. He was always by himself, and he always said hello to her before moving on to his usual study area.

"Hello, Rose."

She didn't even have to look up to see who was speaking to her. Scorpius had a rather distinctive voice. He had a rather posh accent and spoke with very clear diction. His voice also had almost a cool quality to it. Not cold and unfriendly, just…calm and collected at all times.

"Scorpius," she greeted him.

He nodded at the stack of books resting next to her on the table. "Been busy stealing other people's library books, I see."

"Ah ha!" Rose cried triumphantly. "_Library books._ They're library books, so they belong to the library, _not_ individual students."

His mouth quirked up a bit as he regarded her. "Sounds like a rather pedantic argument to me."

"Using words like _pedantic_. Now who's the swot?" Rose asked teasingly.

"Still you," was his quick reply.

There was a brief pause in which Rose felt a bit awkward.

"Er… did you need something?" she finally asked.

He started a bit, seeming taken back by her question, but then recovered himself quickly.

"As usual, you have one of the books I need." He gestured to her rather large column of books.

"But I _need_ these!" Rose protested. She had gone to the shelves and found them fair and square. It wasn't her fault that she had (yet again) been quicker than him. And all of the other sixth years.

"Well, I'd like to refer to that one in my essay," he pointed to the green book resting on the very top of her stack.

Rose glanced at the cover, then looked back at the blonde Slytherin with suspicion. "You need to use _Fascinating Potions Experiments of the Middle Egyptian Kingdom_?"

"Yes," he replied evenly. His face was completely impassive and Rose couldn't tell if he was being serious or just taking the mickey.

"But I have it for supplemental information. It wasn't assigned."

He shrugged casually. "So you can do supplemental reading but I can't?"

Bugger. Rose had to concede that he made a valid point. Also, he was never going to convince her that he wasn't a secret swot now.

With a resigned sign, she picked up the book and held it out for him. "Here. I did want to take it out, but I suppose I have a few other free reading options."

He paused for a moment, but then said in his typically calm voice, "I could read it here at your table. You know, so that when I'm done with it for the night I can give it back."

A fluttery feeling was suddenly swooping around in Rose's stomach. Kind of like a feeling of anticipation.

"That would be… fine."

"Brilliant," he said. "Let me just go fetch my rucksack. I left it at my usual table."

He disappeared around the corner of the bookshelves, his stride confident. Rose stared at the book laying open in front of her, a small smile slowly stretching across her face.

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Rose hadn't seen Scorpius in the library this particular evening. It was strange and she had no reason to feel his way, but she almost missed him. For some reason, she had begun to look forward to seeing the flash of white blonde hair that meant he was nearby. She had seen him in lessons, and they had briefly made eye contact, but it just wasn't the same.

One stormy evening two days later, he appeared in front of her table in the library holding a book in his hands, which he extended to her.

"I came across this book in the Herbology section, and I thought you might like it since you seemed interested in ancient Egypt."

Rose actually knew all about the book in question but as she opened her mouth to say as much the words caught in her throat. His cool, grey eyes looked almost hopeful as he regarded her and she found that she didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"Thank you, it looks fascinating," she told him instead as she reached to take the book. As she did so, their hands brushed ever so slightly. Because he was so pale, she half expected his skin to feel cool to the touch, but his hands were warm. To her intense mortification, Rose felt her face and ears growing warm at the contact.

"Rose?"

Jerking her head sharply upwards, she saw that speaker was her cousin, Al. He was standing at the end of the bookshelf nearest their usual table with his hands nervously clutching the strap of his rucksack.

"Is everything…what's… "Al paused as he struggled to find the proper words. It seemed that finding her speaking her Scorpius Malfoy was one of the last things he'd expected to encounter.

"Don't worry, I'm not trying to hex your cousin, Potter. I thought Rose might enjoy this book." Scorpius replied easily, not missing a beat, his calm exterior unruffled.

Al nodded faintly, his brilliant green eyes taking in the scene before him.

"We shared a book for an assignment one of the nights when you weren't here," Rose explained truthfully. "He just thought I might find this one interesting as well."

"Well, I'll be off then," Scorpius drawled before leaving her and Al alone.

Al settled into the chair across from her at the table and took out his Transfiguration book. "You studied with Scorpius Malfoy?" He didn't seem angry or upset. Merely confused, as well he might be.

Rose shrugged in attempt not to make more of the situation than was necessary. "We found the same book we both needed at the same time and it seemed like a good idea to share. It had loads of helpful information that I included in my essay. Professor Longbottom even gave me a bonus point."

Rose knew she wasn't telling Al the entire truth. Because the entire truth wasn't something that she was sure he wanted to hear. And considering he was a male cousin, she didn't exactly want Al knowing that she'd had a crush on Scorpius Malfoy ever since that first encounter in the Herbology section.

At first, Rose had found the revelation slightly unsettling. After all, she was a Weasley and he was Malfoy; she was a Gryffindor, and he was a Slytherin. But the more she thought about it, she realized that her only objections were to his last name and House. Her parents and other adult family members had certainly taught her better than that. Anyway, she didn't think of either of those things when they were studying together or talking. He was just Scorpius.

Al merely shrugged in acceptance. "Sounds reasonable."

Al wasn't the suspicious sort, something for which Rose now found herself extremely grateful. Now, if her cousins James or Fred, or worse her brother Hugo had found them, that would have been a different story all together. Nosy parkers, the lot of them.

Thankfully, the rest of the evening passed without any further mention of Scorpius Malfoy.

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The next time that Al was studying in the Gryffindor common room with James and Fred, Rose made her way to the library. She told herself that she just wanted to study in peace and quiet. After all, she nearly always studied in the library. And if she just so happened to run into Scorpius Malfoy while she was there… so much the better, yeah?

To her quiet delight, Rose was not disappointed. She hadn't been at her usual table more than a quarter of an hour when suddenly a shadow fell across her essay. Looking up, she couldn't help but give a small smile when she saw the tall, blonde Slytherin standing above her.

"Mind if I sit down?" he asked, and Rose could have sworn her heart skipped a beat.

"Yes," she said, then mentally kicked herself. "No. I mean, no, I don't mind. Yes, please sit down."

How terribly ineloquent of her.

His mouth quirked up in a small smile. "All right, then. I actually had a question for you."

"Oh?" Now she was curious. "You're asking _me_ for help?"

His mouth twitched a bit. "Well, you _are_ the cleverest witch in our year."

Rose felt her face grow warm at his compliment. Her ears were always the worst – it was a Weasley trait – so she subtly attempted to adjust her hair in order to shield the bright red features in question.

"Thanks," she responded, her voice a bit higher pitched than was typically normal. She cleared her throat and said in a more normal voice, "So, what did you need help with?"

"It's this Defense essay," he said, reaching into his black rucksack and pulling out a neatly rolled scroll of parchment. He carefully unfurled it and spread it out on the table in front of them. "I'm having trouble with my fifth point concerning resisting the Imperius Curse."

Scorpius reached out a pale hand and pointed to the paragraph in question. Rose quickly scanned the paragraph, but could truthfully find little fault with the content or presentation of his argument. Still, if she told him that his essay was fine as it was, he might leave, and Rose didn't want him to leave just yet. Or anytime soon, really.

"Well…" Thinking quickly, Rose tried to determine something to keep him at the table with her. "You could strengthen your analysis here," she pointed to a particular sentence.

He read the passage once more and then nodded. "Did you dedicate much space to that point in your essay?"

Rose nodded. "I actually owled my Dad and he gave me some pointers."

At the mention of her father, an odd expression passed over Scorpius's usually rather impassive face. But the moment that Rose looked closer, it wad gone. Still, she couldn't forget it. That look had made her think of what her dad would say if he knew that his only daughter was not only occasionally studying with Scorpius Malfoy, but that she fancied him.

She thought, not for the first time, of her dad's words to her about not becoming too close to Scorpius. Well, she had thoroughly stomped all over those instructions. Oh, Godric.

"What are you thinking?" he surprised her by asking.

Rose's started in surprise, but decided to answer honestly. "Just imagining the look on my dad's face if he knew we were studying together."

His face colored a very light pink. It was incredibly faint and difficult to see in the lighting of the library, but it was there all the same. "I was thinking the same thing."

"Do you mind what your dad would think?" Rose asked hesitantly, desperately hoping that his answer would be no.

"Of course not," he answered immediately. "Do you? Mind, that is."

"No," Rose said firmly. "I was raised to be open-minded. I don't care that you're in Slytherin or that your dad and my parents didn't get on at school. That's them, not us. Besides, I can be just as stubborn as my dad."

"Me too."

They smiled faintly at each other.

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**Thanks for reading! And a special thanks to my beta, **_**blue and gold**_**, for the helpful suggestions and fabulous beta abilities. **

**Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Favorite quotes? I'd love to hear what you thought! **

**Next Chapter:** Al spends more time studying with Rose and Scorpius, and some confessions are made.


	2. Further Library Encounters

Disclaimer: The characters are the property of the amazingly talented J.K Rowling. I'm only borrowing the characters and world that she has so brilliantly created.

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_**Chapter Two: Further Library Encounters **_

**A/N:** Since some of you have asked, this story will be about 4-5 chapters long.

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It was a week before Rose saw Scorpius in the library again. She had been worried that he wouldn't return to her table in the Charms section, so she was pleasantly surprised when he appeared from behind a row of shelves one Thursday evening.

"I was beginning to think you were avoiding me," she told him, making sure to keep her tone light rather than accusatory.

He shook his head with a small smirk. "I may be a Slytherin, but I'm no coward."

Rose found herself smiling at his statement. "I didn't think you were. No one who negotiates sharing a Herbology book like you do could be."

He smiled at her and Rose's heart sped up in her chest. Good job her flaming red ears were hidden by her hair. The fact that her hair was red probably helped her ears in blend in, a fact for which she was grateful.

His face revealed nothing as he asked, "I was wondering…do you want to study for the Herbology exam together? We're both top of the year. It'd be to our advantage to study together. Pool our brains."

Rose pushed out the chair across from her with her foot. "Have a seat." She tried not to smile too widely, but thought she might not have succeeded.

After an hour or so, Rose looked up from her book to see Scorpius watching her with a rather intense look. The moment their eyes met, he tore his gaze away and focused once more upon his parchment.

He wasn't someone who wore his emotions openly on his sleeve like so many of her Gryffindor family members. She was so used to most of her family being appallingly obvious about everything that Scorpius's behavior puzzled her. He had to have some motivation behind wanting to study with her. He was a Slytherin after all. They weren't exactly the sort to act on a whim. Was it academic advantage as he had said, or was there possibly something else? Whatever it was, she didn't think it was anything malicious. He didn't seem the sort. And besides, he likely would have acted by now if there had been some conniving plan in the works.

The pair was quizzing each other on the care of moly plants when someone cleared their throat. Rose looked up to see Al standing at the end of the row of books enclosing their study table. He was watching the two of them with a very strange expression on his face. An extremely familiar well-worn piece of folded parchment was sticking out of the pocket of his robes.

Rose suddenly had a strong suspicion that he knew that she didn't consider Scorpius solely a study partner. She wondered how many times he had observed them on the Marauder's Map.

There was a long silence, then Al asked in an easy voice, "Mind if I join in? I could use some Herbology review before the exam tomorrow. If I do poorly, Mum and Dad always find out before I do. That's the downside of your parents being friends with your professors."

Scorpius shrugged nonchalantly and motioned to the number of empty chairs at the table. "Fine by me."

Rose wished that she could tell what Scorpius was thinking at that very moment. His face gave nothing away. She had witnessed his guarded nature towards others, but he had always seemed a bit more…well, _open_ with her. Or perhaps she was just good at reading him. She wasn't certain.

Al dropped into the spot directly next to Rose, pulled his smart, leather-bound Herbology book out of his rucksack, and plopped it heavily on the table. Al wasn't terribly keen on Herbology.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask Olivia for help," Rose commented, keeping her tone light and free of suggestion. "She's very good at Herbology."

"She's with her friends," was all the answer Al provided. Rose couldn't blame him for not wanting to say more in front of Scorpius.

"Were James and Fred getting out of hand?" she asked, changing the subject. When she had left the Gryffindor common room earlier that evening, Al had been deep in discussion with his brother and their cousin.

Al rolled his bright eyes at her words. "Eva Wood happened."

"Ah," Rose said knowingly. "Were they actually getting on today or are they back to rowing?"

"Back to rowing," Al replied wearily. "I wish Eva would stop being so oblivious and –" he stopped short, seeming to realize that he was on the verge of saying too much in front of someone he hardly knew.

"Eva Wood? Your Gryffindor captain?" Scorpius asked.

Rose nodded in affirmation. "James and Eva… they don't, that is to say…they have a difficult relationship."

"_Difficult_?" Al echoed. "That's putting it mildly, don't you think?"

"They actually have a lot in common and are quite similar," Rose explained, trying not to share too much information. "But back in their first and second years they set each other up as a rival and have never completely got on. Though they've been much better lately."

"Mostly," Al added.

"So," Scorpius said slowly, as though working out a puzzle in his mind, "he fancies her and she hasn't caught on, and it causes problems."

Rose exchanged a quick glance with Al. Her cousin was clearly trying to keep his mouth from dropping open in sheer surprise.

"_How_ did you figure that out?"

"You said you wished Wood would stop being oblivious and that they have a difficult relationship. Not to mention that there have been rumors going around about them all year."

"The Slytherins gossip about the Gryffindors?"

Scorpius stretched his long fingers, flexing them slightly as he did so. He paused then said, "Eva Wood and James Potter are of interest because of Quidditch."

The word Quidditch seemed to metaphorically throw a cold bucket of water over Al. "Quidditch. So what, your team psychoanalyses the other players, looking for mental or emotional weaknesses?"

"Yours doesn't?"

Rose giggled, having been able to tell that Scorpius was only taking the mickey.

"They're the two best players on the Gryffindor side," Scorpius clarified with a small smirk. "People can be interested for non-malicious purposes, you know. We don't exactly sit around discussing their love lives, though. At least my friends and I don't. I can't speak for everyone else."

Al shook his head slightly. "That's a wonky thought – people in other houses sitting around having a chinwag about my brother's love life."

"It must be interesting to have such a large family," Scorpius said unexpectedly. "You all seem very…_involved_ in one another's lives."

Al and Rose both grinned. Rose thought of their recent family meeting in which they had plotted ways to set James up with Eva. Yes, 'involved' didn't really even begin to cover the meddlesome qualities of the combined Potter and Weasley families. Their intrusive tendencies knew few boundaries.

"We are. It's mad, but I wouldn't change it for anything. Even if some of them _do_ drive me mental at times," Al said happily.

Scorpius thoughtfully ran a finger along the edge of the page of the book in front of him. "I only have two cousins on my mother's side."

"What? Only two?" Rose couldn't quite get her head around the concept of having so few family members.

He nodded, his eyes a bit cloudy. "Yeah, and they're quite a bit younger so we're not close. I…" he paused, then shook his head slightly. "So are we going to study Herbology or what?"

"Good thought," Al agreed. "I don't exactly want to fail this exam. Mum wouldn't be too pleased."

"Certain you don't mind studying with a Slytherin?" Scorpius asked. His voice remained neutral, but Rose detected a hint of wariness in his grey eyes.

Al cocked his head to the side. "Should I?"

"Won't your brother be upset because I'm a Slytherin and I beat him at Quidditch?"

Al smiled slightly. "Most likely. But I'm not my brother. And if it makes you feel any better, I reckon that the only reason he really dislikes you is because you're on the Slytherin team. He takes Quidditch rivalries very seriously."

Scorpius seemed to accept this. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I still feel as though beating him was a complete fluke."

"All right, then, _Herbology_," Rose reminded the boys before they could start discussing Quidditch. If they went down that road, they'd never get any studying done. She drew the textbook lying open in front of her closer and selected the question at the very top of the chapter review list.

"What type of fertilizer would you use on a moly plant, and why?"

And suddenly they were all studying for the Herbology exam together. As Al gave Scorpius a question to answer, Rose found herself feeling inexplicably pleased that her cousin and Scorpius were getting on so well. Rose felt that there was real potential for them to be friends. Everyone in the family liked Al; he was kind and loyal and a bit sensitive. Having him on her side concerning Scorpius could only be a good thing.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…

"That was helpful; I feel loads better about the exam tomorrow," Al commented as he and Rose left the library. After finishing up, they had left Scorpius to join his friends who had come to the library looking for him.

Rose nodded. "Going over the footnotes again was a good idea. Neville – I mean, Professor Longbottom – likes to take the bonus questions from there."

"So," Lily's voice came out of nowhere, making both Rose and Al jump slightly. Al, from legitimately having been startled, Rose from guilt.

"Why in the name of Merlin's saggy pants were two studying with Malfoy?" Hugo joined in as he appeared on the other side of Lily.

Oh, Godric, this was it. Unless she and Al could pull this off, her goose was cooked. She quickly mentally processed her options.

"He's clever. He helps us study, that's all," Al replied, attempting to sound nonchalant.

"Rose is top of her year. She doesn't need help from anyone," Hugo countered with an air of suspicion.

"Studying with other people really does help," Rose finally spoke up. "He's one of the top students in the sixth year. There's going to be some tricky material on this exam tomorrow and I want to do my best, whatever it takes."

"But…" Lily said, clearly confused and trying to make sense of the situation. "How did you even start studying together? I didn't even know you knew each other."

"We needed the same book one night, so after some arguing we decided to share. It went well, so we kept on a bit. It's just studying," Rose assured Hugo.

That wasn't quite accurate and Rose felt a twinge of guilt as she said it. At least the part about how it had all began was the absolute truth. That helped Rose to feel slightly less guilty, being able to share a portion of the truth.

"Hmm."

"He's not so bad," Al chimed in. "Really good at taking notes in short hand so he gets everything the professor says written down. Dead helpful when brushing up for exams."

"Well, don't go getting too cozy with him," Hugo warned.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Hugo, don't be a prat. This is Rose we're talking about."

Rose wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but she wondered if she shouldn't be slightly offended.

"I'm serious!" he protested. "The whole thing just seems wonky. I don't want my sister getting tangled up with him."

"She's got me to protect her," Al offered helpfully, giving the impression that he always studied with Rose and Scorpius. Of course, that wasn't true, but that wasn't something Hugo needed to know.

Rose snorted. "I don't need _protecting_. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. If anyone cares to remember, I beat James at dueling last summer. Like I said, it's just studying. We don't even talk to each other when we're not in the library."

That was accurate enough, unfortunately.

Hugo seemed pleased by this. "Good."

"Hugo," Rose ground out. "Scorpius Malfoy is quiet and a bit studious. Does that really sound dangerous to you? Besides, what could happen in the library? The moment anyone so much as raises their voice Madam Pince swoops down like a hawk and chucks them out."

"Oh, fine," Hugo finally conceded, seeming satisfied at last. "I trust _you_. It's _him_ I don't trust."

"Well, that's enough meddling for tonight," Lily said cheerfully. "C'mon Hugo, our Astronomy group meets in ten minutes and I've got the star chart we're supposed to be working on."

"I suppose it's what I deserve, considering how much I meddle in their lives," Rose lamented as Lily and Hugo walked off in the opposite direction.

"I'm surprised it took them this long to notice that we've been studying with a Slytherin," Al commented lightly.

"Everyone's so caught up in the mess that's James and Eva no one's been paying attention."

"Rose, I…" Al began, but then stopped as they came to an intersection in the corridor and found themselves face to face with a small group of Hufflepuff girls.

"Hi," said a girl with long, wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, and a round face. "Been studying for Dad's exam tomorrow?"

"Hi Olivia," Rose greeted her friend warmly, glad of the distraction it provided from the previous topic of discussion. "Yeah, we were. I think we managed to cover everything. Oh, no! Did we forget moly plants!?"

"We started with those," Al reassured her quickly. "Remember?"

"Oh," Rose breathed a sigh of relief. "'Course we did. Just worried, you know? It's a big exam."

"Not to mention your dad will tell our parents our marks before we know," Al put in with a bit of a grumble, not quite meeting Olivia's eyes.

Olivia giggled slightly. "Well, we've got to meet up with some people and we're running a bit late. Good luck tomorrow."

The two groups parted ways, though Rose noticed that Al snuck a glance behind under the pretense of adjusting the shoulder strap of his rucksack.

"Al, are you ever going to do anything about that?" Rose asked him nonchalantly. Meddling just came so easily.

"About what?" Al chose to feign incomprehension.

"Oh, fine, choose to be that way," Rose retorted. "Just be glad the family's otherwise occupied with sticking their noses in places these days."

"Speaking of that," Al said, steering the conversation safety away from himself.

Rose smiled to herself and let their conversation be guided elsewhere. He had proved a good ally against Hugo. Given what _she _suspected that _Al_ suspected, it was in her best interest not to push him too hard.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…

In the weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday, Rose, Scorpius, and Al had studied together quite a lot. The three of them worked rather well together. They all had their strengths and weaknesses, but they were also all clever enough to hold their own and challenge each other.

Rose barely had a chance to say goodbye to Scorpius before the Christmas holiday. He sat with his Slytherin friends on the Hogwarts express and she sat with her Gryffindor and Hufflepuff family members. As she climbed down from the train at King's Cross station, she saw him briefly and gave him a small smile. He gave a small smile of his own in response.

During her time spent away from him over the holiday, Rose realized that she fancied Scorpius Malfoy much more than she had initially supposed. She missed seeing him approach her in the library and settle down in the seat across from her. She missed the small smile of gratitude when she answered one of his questions concerning schoolwork. She missed the way in which he stretched and flexed his long, slender fingers. She missed the way his grey eyes narrowed slightly when he was reading a passage of text from a book. She missed the way their fingers sometimes brushed. She missed the happiness his presence brought her. She missed _him_.

During their time spent studying together, they had also shared many interesting conversations. His favorite color was blue, not Slytherin green, as she had supposed. He liked that the Slytherin common room was a bit eerie (apparently it had a greenish glow). His favorite school subject was Charms. He didn't know what he wanted to do after Hogwarts. He still couldn't believe that he had beaten James at Quidditch, but considered it one of the greatest moments of his life, to have beaten someone so talented. He wanted to learn to play a musical instrument. He thought Al was an all right bloke. He enjoyed talking with Rose (that comment had made her blush right down to her toes).

More than once Rose had thought of writing to him. She had wasted more than a few pieces of parchment starting letters, but she had never been able to finish one. She wasn't certain whether it would be strange or not, to write him a letter. The situation made her think about if she considered him a friend, and if she thought that he considered her one as well. They were certainly more than acquaintances, but she didn't know if "friend" was quite the right word. In the end, she decided that if she couldn't even properly start a letter, she wouldn't write one at all.

When her Aunt Audrey asked over Christmas Pudding if Rose was seeing anyone, she felt her stomach clench tightly. Of course, Scorpius wasn't her boyfriend, but that didn't mean that she didn't want him to be. She had been trying not to think of Scorpius too often. She didn't want to be one of _those girls_ who seemingly thought of nothing but the lad they fancied, but he somehow seemed to be everywhere, working his way into her memories and mental associations.

Across the dinner table, Al gave her an appraising stare which she wasn't certain how to interpret. She had noticed during the last month of term that he had taken to using the Marauder's Map more often than usual. Rose couldn't have proven it, but she wondered at times if Al wasn't holding on to the map so much in order to keep James from happening to notice her in the library with Scorpius.

Then at the return feast, there he was, sitting across the Great Hall at the Slytherin table with his mates. Lyra Rinaldi, one of his fellow Slytherin sixth years, was sitting on his left and talking to him. Lyra was rather stunning in a harshly beautiful sort of way, with long, straight, jet back hair, which highlighted her sharp cheekbones and incredibly dark eyes. The sight of her talking with Scorpius sent a pang of jealousy surging through Rose's stomach. She set her fork down, her appetite suddenly gone.

Scorpius turned to look in her direction just then and he smiled slightly when his grey eyes met her blue ones. Their gaze was locked for a brief moment – just a heartbeat – before Fred flung a spoon of mashed potatoes at James, effectively pulling her attention back to the Gryffindor table.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…

Scorpius was waiting for her in the library in their usual nook in the Charms section the next evening. There wasn't much reason to be in the library studying just yet, but Rose had come in the fervent hope that Scorpius would be there.

Before she could sit down, he stood up and said, "I'm having trouble finding this book. Do you mind helping me?"

He slid a scrap of parchment with a book title and author name neatly written on it towards her across the smooth surface of the wooden table.

"Of course," Rose answered at once, though she wondered why he simply couldn't have asked Madam Pince for assistance. She was after, all, the librarian. Still, Scorpius was her friend (or something like that, she hadn't quite determined what he was, exactly), and she didn't mind helping out a friend when it was needed.

They were browsing a shelf towards the back of the library when Scorpius very unexpectedly said, "Lyra Rinaldi – she's my Quidditch captain – she fancies me."

Rose felt as though she had swallowed a particularly nasty potion. Her heart was suddenly beating rapidly in her chest and she willed her breathing to remain even. Oh, Godric. He must have noticed her feelings for him and was attempting to let her down as gently as he could by telling her about another girl.

She looked determinedly back at the shelves. She concentrated on the book spines, reading the titles and author names. "That's… er, that's nice," she said, for a lack of anything else better to say.

"No, it's _not_. She's _awful._"

Surprised, Rose turned her head to look at Scorpius, who was making a face of severe disgust. It was almost strange to see such an obvious and firm expression on his face.

"She's always hanging around me, trying to flirt with me, and I've tried to let her know I'm not interested, but she won't listen. It's driving me mental. Especially because there's this other girl I can't get out of my mind."

"I see," Rose said, beginning to feel very stupid indeed. What was this conversation about? She had thought he was letting her down by telling her about Rinaldi, but that was clearly no longer the case. Was it someone else entirely or could…could that mean…_her_?

"Rose…I-I…" Scorpius began, but broke off as words failed him. Instead, he ever so slightly moved his body closer to hers, silently asking permission. Rose felt herself moving closer to him as well, her face tilting upwards towards his. Oh, Godric, this was actually happening! Scorpius was going to kiss her.

Their faces drew nearer and nearer. He had incredibly fair, unblemished skin, and at this close range, Rose could see that there was a soft ring of blue around his otherwise grey eyes. That was her last thought before her eyes fluttered shut and a moment later, the warm pressure of his lips pressed against her mouth.

The kiss was tender and sweet. His strong hands held her so delicately, as though he were unable to believe that he was actually kissing her. Rose could hardly believe this was happening either. Scorpius's embrace made her feel cared for in a way that was wholly new to her. Hugo and some of her other male family members were probably going to kill her, but kissing Scorpius Malfoy was well worth it.

"I _knew_ you couldn't really need help with schoolwork," Rose teased him shyly as they broke apart. "I thought you must have an agenda."

Scorpius smirked slightly. His breath was warm against her cheek as he spoke "I only started coming into the library so often to try and work up the courage to talk to you."

"How very Slytherin of you."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he smirked slightly. "I didn't know how else to talk to you. I'm not good at this."

"This?"

"Showing emotions." He paused. "Letting a girl know how I feel about her."

"I think you did just fine," Rose told him honestly.

He nodded, his mouth tilting in a slight smirk. "I'd seen you in lessons and in the corridors and in the Great Hall. You…intrigued me. I've wanted to get to know you ever since my father told me to stay away from you."

"Our families…" Rose began, then trailed off.

"We can just keep it to ourselves for right now," Scorpius suggested hesitantly. "We don't have to tell anyone. Not that I don't want people knowing I fancy you – I want everyone to know - but it would give us time to figure out things just between us, without dealing with everyone making judgments or trying to complicate things."

"Us?" Rose felt a bit silly asking for clarification, but she didn't want to simply assume that was what he had meant.

He regarded her with his cool, grey eyes. "Is that what you want, Rose?"

"Is that _you_ want?" she asked him right back. She wasn't going to let him turn the question back on her.

"Yes," he answered firmly.

Rose smiled widely. "Me too. But I think we should set a time limit on the secrecy. We tell our families and friends by the end of the term. Does that sound reasonable?"

"That sounds like a good plan."

"I do want them to know. I could tell them a few at a time, to ease them into it. Lily and Roxanne will be all right about it. James might never forgive you because of Quidditch, and Fred will have a problem with you being a Slytherin. My brother…let's not even think about that. And my dad… actually, I'm really not sure about him."

"Then let's just take some time to figure out us," Scorpius told her, interlacing their fingers. "Without anyone else sticking their noses in our business."

"_Us_," Rose repeated, still smiling up at him. "I like the sound of that."

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…

**Thanks for reading! And a special thanks to my beta, **_**blue and gold**_**, for the helpful suggestions and fabulous beta abilities. **

**Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Favorite quotes? I'd love to hear what you thought! **

**Next Chapter:** Rose has a run in with Eva Wood, Al voices suspicions, and there's an uproar after a Quidditch match.


	3. Encounters with Friends and Family

Disclaimer: The characters are the property of the amazingly talented J.K Rowling. I'm only borrowing the characters and world that she has so brilliantly created.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…

**Chapter 3: **_**Encounters with Friends and Family**_

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…

"It's nice, not having to worry so much about whether or not one of your family members is going to walk around the next corner and hex me," Scorpius commented, as they strolled down a deserted corridor in a little used portion of the castle.

It was a Hogsmeade weekend and the pair were taking advantage of the fact that the vast majority of the students were currently in the village enjoying the unseasonably nice day. Rose had made sure that all of her family members would be leaving the castle so that she and Scorpius could interact a bit more freely, not to mention outside the confines of the library.

"_No one_ in my family would hex you," Rose insisted. This was an all-to-frequent subject between them. "Even Hugo. He'd say something nasty, but he'd never hex you. What kind of nutter would someone have to be to act like that?"

"We'll get to test that theory sooner or later. Your family_ are_ Gryffindors."

"And so am I." Rose took great pride in being a Gryffindor. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, Gryffindors have a bit of a hex now, ask questions later mentality. They jump right into things. A Slytherin, on the other hand, would bide their time."

"You won't be hexed," Rose repeated emphatically, then said, "I mean, at least not with anything harmful or dangerous."

"How very reassuring," Scorpius replied sarcastically.

"James and Fred like a laugh, that's all. They'd never hurt anyone. They pulled quite a few pranks on Eva before James fancied her. He put hair dye in her shampoo once. Well, actually Roxanne helped with that part but only because Fred knew who she fancied and threatened to tell the bloke in question if she didn't. But don't tell Eva, she doesn't know!"

"I doubt that's a conversation I'd ever have with Eva Wood."

Fair enough; that secret was safe.

"Actually, speaking of Roxanne - I've been trying to think of a good way to bring it up to Lily and Roxanne that you're my boyfriend."

As the words slipped out of her mouth, Rose realized what she'd just said and she felt her face and ears flush a dark red.

"Why are you blushing?" Scorpius asked quizzically, amusement clear in her voice.

"Well, I…" Rose began, not knowing quite how to explain to him that it was because they had never used the terms 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend.' They'd just said 'us,' and that had been that. There had been no discussion of officially formalizing their relationship, it had just evolved naturally and comfortably.

The amusement in his voice only grew. "I mean, we _are_ dating, aren't we?"

"It's a bit of a girl thing, I think," was the only way Rose could think to describe it. It probably wasn't strictly a girl thing, but it was the best explanation she could give him.

"That's a rotten excuse," he said, wrapping his arms around her while she responded in kind.

"It's the only one I've got," she teasingly replied, staring up into his soft grey eyes glittering in the torchlight. "Unless you want me to say it's because you look so handsome in your button down with the sleeves rolled up like that."

"I think you're lying. Your ears are all red," he whispered as he pushed back a strand of her red hair away from her face. He tucked the piece gently behind her ear and slowly leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.

Rose sighed happily and leaned into Scorpius. So many of these moments were stolen in empty classrooms and behind bookshelves in the library, but not today. Today they could let their guard down just a little bit, just for a while.

"—Holy hippogriffs!"

In a flash, Rose ripped herself away from Scorpius and turned to stare at the owner of the voice. Eva Wood was standing just at the end of the corridor, her bright blue eyes impossibly wide. Her hands covered her mouth, as though she had realized that she had yelled out loud and immediately regretted her outburst.

"Oh, hell," she heard Scorpius mutter under his breath.

There was a long pause in which no one seemed to know what to say. A million things ran through Rose's head as she tried to rationally assess the situation. Eva was dating the Head Boy, but if Eva's best friend was to be believed, that relationship wasn't going to last much longer. It had been a while now since Eva and James had become friends, but even if Eva didn't see it (as usual) there were clear signs that she had begun to fancy James. Would Eva keep this kind of information from James, from their family?

"I… don't understand," Eva finally managed to utter.

If Rose hadn't been so worried about being caught with Scorpius, she might have laughed. It was such a classically awkward Eva-like thing to say.

"Please don't tell anyone," Rose pleaded. Taking a deep, calming breath, Rose took Scorpius's hand and the pair walked closer to Eva so that they could talk more quietly. Eva didn't move a muscle.

"We're not ready for our families to know that we're going out yet," Scorpius intoned in his very best cool manner. Behind his collected exterior, Rose knew that he was likely feeling panicked about this unexpected turn of events. Scorpius didn't know Eva like Rose did; he might well be expecting the entire Weasley and Potter families to be aware of their relationship by dinner time.

Comprehension washed over Eva's features as she mentally processed what she had seen and what she had just heard.

"You don't know my dad," Rose further explained. "He and Scorpius's dad were huge enemies when they were at school together. The war changed some of that - but even though they grudgingly tolerate each other now, my dad once told me not to get too friendly with Scorpius."

"I would say that you're way past friendly," Eva said, shock still apparent in her voice.

Rose couldn't help it this time and she laughed. Besides her, Scorpius offered Eva a slight smile. Hopefully he was feeling a bit more at ease.

"You're friends with so many people in my family," Rose told Eva. "Please don't tell them."

"Oh, Merlin, _James,"_ Eva breathed softly with dawning comprehension. She tugged anxiously at the ends of her light brown hair and bit her bottom lip.

Was it Quidditch or was it her friendship and the possibility of a relationship with James that was causing Eva such worry? Rose found that she didn't know, and the thought brought on an entirely fresh wave of anxiety. What if Eva _told_ James?

"Eva, you can't tell him!" Rose insisted. She could hear the panic in her own voice.

A look Rose couldn't quite interpret crossed Eva's face, but the next moment it had been replaced with a look of resolute determination.

"I won't," Eva promised faithfully. "But you should. And soon. They're your family, Rose, and they love you."

Easier said than done. But then, Eva, the girl who loved Quidditch almost more than anything, had once had to tell her Quidditch obsessed family that she was dating a lad who didn't like the sport. Perhaps she knew just a tiny bit of what Rose was going through.

Eva turned a strict glare on Scorpius. "You had better not be messing her around, Malfoy."

"I'm not," Scorpius spoke up immediately. He looked sideways at Rose, his grey eyes tender. "I've fancied her for ages; I'm not letting her go now."

Rose couldn't help but beam in happiness up at her boyfriend. Scorpius often expressed that he wasn't much good at romantic statements, but as far as Rose was concerned he said incredibly romantic things to her. It might not have been flowery or poetic, but it was from the heart. She wished she could make him understand that.

"We're going to tell them," Rose said, turning back to Eva, who was currently staring determinedly at the wall. "We're just going to break it to them slowly."

"Well, in the meantime, don't get caught again," Eva suggested with a slight smile.

"We've been lucky so far," Scorpius said. "But we're careful. I don't especially want to be hexed by her brother and all of her cousins." He winced at the very thought.

"How long has this been going on?" Eva asked suddenly.

"Officially, only a few weeks," Rose answered, as she felt her face flush pink. "But we've been studying together for months."

Eva stared openly at them. "You mean to tell me that _no one's_ noticed?"

"Oh, no, they did," Rose admitted. "I study with Al a lot so he noticed right away. But I convinced everyone that Scorpius and I were just studying together because we're top of our class. And Al's actually better at Potions than I am – but don't tell him I said so - so he started studying with us. He and Scorpius actually get on quite well."

"It's James and Fred I worry about," Scorpius replied flatly.

Eva brought her hands up to her head. "I…I think I need to go flying. What a day. First Jonathan, now this. Oi."

And with that, Eva turned around and walked back the way she had come. Rose cocked her head to the side, wondering what Eva had meant by, "First Jonathan, now this." Rose's desire to meddle was strong, but right now Eva's problems were currently the least of _her _problems.

"She looked a bit….dazed," Scorpius decided as he stood staring at the spot that Eva had just vacated. "But I don't think she's going to tell anyone."

"That was my first instinct," Rose said tentatively.

"But?"

"Eva takes Quidditch incredibly seriously, and James took losing to Slytherin so hard. They _both_ did. You didn't see them after."

"What do you want me to do?" Scorpius asked, exasperation lacing his voice. "Break into the Ministry, steal a time turner, go back in time, and lose on purpose so I don't muck up the prospect of a relationship for them?"

"Don't be daft," Rose snapped at him. "Besides, that loss was a major turning point for them. It's critical to their time line. I just meant that what if Eva feels that she can't keep a secret like this from James? Or what if he finds out that she knew all along and then feels as though he can't trust her?"

Scorpius took a deep breath before answering "Rose, there's nothing we can do about it. Just have some faith in Eva. You were ready to before; trust that feeling."

"You're right," Rose nodded, taking calming breaths once more. "You're right. My first instinct was to trust Eva."

Scorpius grinned. "I'd kiss you, only I'm afraid that someone else is going to walk around that corner and find us."

"I'll work on a way to tell Lily and Roxanne," Rose promised. "Maybe Eva can help, although as you could probably tell, she completely lacks subtly, so that might be tricky."

Scorpius laughed at this statement. "You'll figure it out. You aren't the cleverest witch in our year for nothing."

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…

"Rose, I…that is - your hair looks very pretty today," Scorpius shyly told her as they sat studying at their usual table in the library.

"Keep your voice down," Rose admonished him.

"Sorry," he said, his voice a bit tight.

"I didn't mean to snap," she apologized, biting her lip, "It's just that after this weekend, I'm worried about James or Fred or Hugo finding out. Er, well, Hugo finding out _more_ than he currently knows."

Godric, Saturday afternoon had to rank right up there as one of her most embarrassing moments, and that included the time she'd tried to use magic to style her hair when she was twelve.

Scorpius picked up his wand and gave it a small flick, muttering "_Muffliato_," as he did so.

"Good thinking."

"It's like I told you then," Scorpius said patiently, "I think Wood will keep her promise. And even though she was surprised, she wasn't angry. Just a bit dazed."

Rose nearly giggled, remembering the look on Eva's face. "She _was_ dazed, wasn't she?"

"So that's one person down. Sort of."

"Yeah…" Rose trailed off. "Al suspects."

"We _could _just tell him," Scorpius pointed out logically. "Of all your family members, he's the one I'm least worried about."

Rose cocked her head to the side. "Who are you the most worried about?"

Nearly imperceptible pink spots formed in Scorpius's cheeks and he ducked his head.

"It's Hugo, isn't it?" Rose guessed. It didn't exactly take a genius to figure that out.

"Well, he's your brother," Scorpius reasoned. "You're close. He means a lot to you. And then there's the fact that he's already confronted you about studying with me."

Rose wanted to reach across the table and take his hand, but knew that she couldn't if she didn't want to announce their secret to anyone who happened to be walking by. She wanted to be the one to tell her family members. They would undoubtedly be upset if they found out from someone other than her.

"I love Hugo and he may be my brother, but he doesn't have any say in who I date."

Scorpius flexed his fingers. "He's not going to see it that way. He'll see it as his job to protect his sister from someone he thinks is going to hurt her."

"But you're not going to hurt me!" Rose protested, annoyance surging up inside of her.

"Hugo doesn't know that," Scorpius replied calmly. "And neither do your other relatives."

Rose was silent in thought for a moment. Then Scorpius spoke up again.

"We've certainly gotten ourselves into quite a mess, haven't we?" he asked her, his voice light and teasing.

Rose found herself smiling. He really was too wonderful. "You're worth it."

"You may not think that when I start involving you in my devious Slytherin schemes," Scorpius continued to tease.

"You're hardly devious."

Scorpius smirked. "Perhaps that's what I want you to think."

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…

"So, I heard a rumor that you told Rinaldi to shut up," Al said to Scorpius as they were all were studying Herbology one evening.

Rose looked up from her essay in surprise. "_What?_"

"That's not a rumor," Scorpius scoffed. "You heard that directly from Eva Wood."

Al grinned easily. "Fair enough. I was just curious to hear what it felt like to finally tell off Rinaldi."

"Won't you get in trouble?" Rose asked anxiously. Scorpius rowing with his Quidditch captain certainly wasn't going to win him any points with his team or the other members of his house. And once word got out that he was dating a Weasley, he was going to need the support of his friends and housemates. He needed to be on their good side.

Scorpius shrugged nonchalantly. "People think Rinaldi is a talented Quidditch player, but that doesn't mean everyone particularly likes her. She was especially hard on us at practice that afternoon. People were glad to hear someone finally be able to talk back to her."

Rose still felt skeptical.

"Look, I didn't say it within the bounds of Quidditch practice. It's different."

Al nodded. "Speaking of Eva…"

Rose suddenly knew where this was conversation going and fought back a small smile.

"I'm in on the same secret as Eva," Al told Scorpius nonchalantly.

Scorpius's face betrayed no emotion. "Oh?"

"Yeah," Al confirmed. "I had a chat with Rosie last night and I told her I knew about you two. That you're together."

"Told you he suspected," Rose grinned happily. It had been such a relief when Al had confronted her outside the owlrey and told her that he knew about her and Scorpius. He had had his suspicions based on their study habits, but then he'd consulted the map to verify his hunch.

"_He's a good bloke, Rosie," _Al had said to her._ "I'm happy for you."_

"I didn't exactly think we were fooling you," Scorpius admitted. "That first time you caught us studying…you suspected then, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Al confirmed, twirling his quill around through his fingers. "I did. And I'll keep your secret safe," he assured the pair of them.

"Thanks, Al," Rose told him gratefully.

"I'll just say this," Al added, "More people are going to start finding out the longer you keep it a secret. If you wait, everyone else is going to end up finding out in a way they won't be happy about."

Rose knew Al was right. The longer the deception went on, the more chances there were that someone would find out. Hadn't two people found out already? And Eva finding out the way she had definitely hadn't been planned. What if it hadn't been Eva, but Hugo? She certainly didn't want her brother finding out like that. He deserved to be told by her.

"Some of us girls are getting together to chat and eat chocolate and stuff," Rose said, more for Scorpius's benefit than Al's.

Al knew all about the planned girls' night, seeing as he and James had originated the idea as part of some slightly mad plan that involved wanting to know what Lily thought of one of Eva's younger brothers, and also wanting to know if James had any chance with Eva now that she was single. (Of course he did; the tension between them was practically palpable.) Eva and her best friend, Christine, would be there as well because Christine was involved in the family's meddling concerning her friend and James.

"It's a sort of a girls' night thing, so it'll be a good time to tell Lily and Roxanne about us."

"Lily will think it's brilliant," Al chimed in. "I'm not as close with Roxanne so I couldn't say for sure what she'll think, but I think it'll be fine."

"Well, good luck," Scorpius dryly intoned. "If I hear explosions from the other side of the castle, I'll know what's happening."

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…

The girls had been chatting for a bit now, and Rose was feeling more tense and anxious by the minute. Roxanne had announced that she was going to the next Hogsmeade trip with a Ravenclaw named Liam, which had been quite a surprise. Much more importantly, Lily had just confessed to fancying Richard Wood, which meant that all of their family's meddling in this particular area had finally paid off.

Currently, Lily wasn't meeting Eva's eyes. Why Lily was worried that Eva would care if she fancied her brother, Rose didn't know. Eva didn't have the same protective instincts concerning her siblings' love lives as her brothers.

"Oh, that's a huge relief," Eva said and tossed Lily a chocolate frog probably a bit harder than she had meant to. Chaser habits and all. Thankfully Lily was a fellow Chaser and easily caught the chocolate treat. "He fancies you too, just ask him to Hogsmeade."

Lily's face turned an even darker shade of pink. "How do _you_ know?" she asked Eva, extreme curiosity lacing her voice.

It was a fair enough question, seeing as Eva Wood had to be one of the most oblivious people currently walking the Earth.

"Can't I know things about my own brother?"

There was dead silence in the room.

"Oh, fine," Eva admitted with an exasperated huff. "James and Al told me."

"Ah ha," Christine smiled. "_Now_ it makes sense."

In response, Eva shoved Christine off of the pillow on which she had been leaning.

"I have something to say," Rose spoke up suddenly after keeping quiet for the last several minutes. Her voice was shaking ever so slightly, but she was determined to say her piece and tell her family the truth about her relationship with Scorpius. They were her family, she loved them, and they deserved to know.

"I'msortofdatingsomeone," she said, the words rushed together and nearly indistinguishable. However, that didn't stop anyone from understanding what had just been said.

"_What_?" Roxanne burst out in surprise. "And you didn't tell us?"

"Who?" Lily asked, clearly puzzled.

Rose paused, then said, "Promise you won't be angry?"

"Er…do you want us to leave for this?" Christine kindly asked, throwing Eva a concerned glance.

Rose shook her head. "Eva already knows. You might as well hear it too."

Roxanne's eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "_Eva_ knows? I mean… _how_?" She looked with some wonder in Eva's direction.

"She, uh…caught us, erm, kissing in a corridor."

Rose could tell from the rising heat that her face was positively aflame with embarrassment.

"Classy." Roxanne took a long drink of her butterbeer.

"Promise you won't be angry?" Rose repeated. She twisted her fingers anxiously and bit her lower lip, which ending up hurting a bit.

"Why would we be angry?" Lily asked. Her voice was gentle and kind and reminded Rose that Lily wouldn't be upset with her, no matter who she named.

Roxanne, on the other hand, had begun to look a bit suspicious because of all of the talk about secrecy and entreaties not to be cross.

This was the moment and there was nothing else for it.

"Because it's Scorpius Malfoy."

Again, there was dead silence. Not one of the girls seemed to even breathe.

Looking around the circle, Rose met Eva's eye and the other girl gave her a small smile and nod of encouragement. Rose returned the smile as best she could. The words were out there now.

Rose sat up a bit taller and her voice became firmer. "He's not what you think. I fancy him and he fancies me and that's all that matters."

Lily was the first one to speak and break the ice. "I can't believe you get to snog him."

Suddenly everyone laughed and it was like the _silencio _spell had been lifted.

"Yeah…" Rose sighed happily, recalling the firm but gentle way Scorpius held her when they kissed. How cared for he made her feel.

"I think it's brilliant. Really," Christine told Rose, raising her butterbeer bottle in her direction.

"Malfoy?" Roxanne said, obviously shocked. "How did _that_ happen?"

Things were going extraordinarily well so far, giving Rose the confidence to go on. She pushed a strand of her hair out of her face and shared the story of how she and Scorpius had first spoken and shared the library book and how it had continued from there.

"I can't believe I thought you were just studying with him because he was clever and you challenged each other in lessons," Lily muttered. Rose knew exactly what her meddlesome younger cousin was thinking: that she should have noticed.

"Al studied with us a lot," Rose said, "and he figured it out. Well, he suspected for a long time. He confronted me about it a couple of nights ago."

Christine selected another biscuit. "Was he upset?"

Rose shook her head. "Because he's been studying with us, he's got to know Scorpius. I wouldn't call them friends, exactly, but they're on good terms."

"So when did you realize that you fancied Malfoy?" Lily queried.

Once again, Rose's face flushed bright pink. "Ever since that first argument over the book."

"So how are you going to tell the rest of your family?" Christine asked.

Rose grimaced at the very thought. "No idea. It's just…I mean, we were all raised to believe in House equality and I wouldn't be worried if it were any other Slytherin, but Scorpius is a Malfoy. His dad and his grandfather were Death Eaters and his great aunt tortured my mum in their drawing room."

"His grandmum also saved _my_ dad's life, you know," Lily reminded her gently.

"I know."

It helped, but it didn't remove the worry entirely.

"Thanks for telling us," Roxanne told her sincerely. "That was brave of you. I mean, I'm not exactly certain how I feel about it yet, but it's your life. We'll deal with the boys another day. Al's already taken care of, so it's really just James, Fred, and Hugo. Everyone else won't care. Or if they do, tell them to bugger off!"

Rose slowly rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I don't even want to think about it. Let's change the subject. So, Eva, any boys on the horizon for you?"

Eva looked like a mouse caught in the wandlight. The girls continued to grill her for information as she stubbornly resisted to share details. But in the end she slipped up and admitted to finding James attractive, so the evening had been a great success all around.

Rose went to sleep that night feeling as though one huge weight had been removed from her shoulders. Of course, there was still another one resting there, but for now, this would do. It was a start, and a very positive start at that.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…

"Malfoy's got the Snitch!" the announcer cried excitedly, "Slytherin wins 450 - 140."

Rose breathed a small, hopefully unnoticed, sigh of relief. She had spent the entirety of the Hufflepuff-Slytherin match practically holding her breath and trying not to betray herself. She was always a bit nervous about Quidditch matches; she worried about her friends and family out there on broomsticks, high above the ground with Bludgers whizzing by attempting to unseat them. It was Scorpius she had been worried about this time, but considering none of her family members were playing it would have seemed strange to those around her if she acted too worried.

Hugo, James, and Fred were all still in the dark about Scorpius, but she had plans to tell them before the end of the term. She wanted to tell Hugo first, because he was her brother. If she could rationally explain the situation to him, that would be a good start for telling the others.

Looking around at her family and friends seated around her, Rose couldn't help but smile to herself. There was Lily, sharing her umbrella with Richard and the pair shooting each other not-so-subtle glances every now and then. And James, sitting with his arm slung around Eva's shoulder as she leaned into him. About time – on both accounts.

Back on the pitch, the Slytherins were landing their brooms and congratulating one another on their victory over Hufflepuff. Rose was trying to remain a passive observer, but then the Slytherin captain, Lyra Rinaldi, had stridden up to Scorpius, pressed herself against him, and kissed him full on the mouth.

"What is she doing?" Rose jumped to her feet, unable to contain herself. That cow Rinaldi was kissing her boyfriend! It didn't matter that the other girl didn't know that Scorpius was taken; he had told her that he didn't fancy her. Rinaldi knew he didn't care.

The kiss itself was incredibly short. Scorpius hastily pushed Rinaldi off of him, the force of his shove causing her to stumble backwards. Then it appeared that he was shouting at his captain.

Rose felt her heart soar with affection for her boyfriend.

Nearby, her cousin Fred let out a loud laugh and teasingly said, "Don't tell me you're one of those girls that thinks Malfoy's fit, are you?"

"Yes, I do," Rose retorted hotly, eyes most likely flashing. "Because…because Scorpius is my boyfriend. So excuse me while I go tell Lyra Rinald to shove off!"

Scorpius would have called it Gryffindor impulsiveness and he would have been right. Rose knew the moment the words were out of her mouth that there would be consequences, but in that moment she couldn't bring herself to care.

As she hurtled towards the stairs leading to the ground, Rose heard three male voices yell, "What?!"

She didn't stop to explain.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…

**Thanks for reading! And a special thanks to my beta, **_**blue and gold**_**, for the helpful suggestions and fabulous beta abilities. **

**Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Favorite quotes? I'd love to hear what you thought! **

**Next Chapter:** Rinaldi doesn't appreciate Rose's interruption, Scorpius takes a trip to the Hospital Wing, and Rose's family has some thoughts on the new developments.


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